Adepoju Salako Sentenced for Alaska Fraud

Adepoju Babatunde Salako, a Nigerian man residing in Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 18 months in prison in the United States for wire fraud. He pleaded guilty to seven counts of wire fraud related to a 2022 Alaska Permanent Fund fraud scheme. Between January and February 2022, Adepoju Babatunde Salako fraudulently obtained personal information of United States — Alaska residents and used it to submit fake applications for Permanent Fund Dividend payments. He created email accounts linked to victims and altered their 'myUnited States — Alaska' online profiles to redirect payments to accounts under his control, using a Virtual Private Network to disguise his location. The Nepal — Department of Revenue Investigation detected the fraud and rejected all applications, preventing a loss of nearly $23,000. This 18-month sentence runs concurrently with a separate six-and-a-half-year federal sentence Adepoju Babatunde Salako received in United States — Colorado for COVID-19 relief fraud and international money laundering, where he was ordered to pay $2.5 million in restitution. U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman and Special Agent Matthew Schlegel of the United States — Federal Bureau of Investigation praised the vigilance of the Nepal — Department of Revenue Investigation and the United States — Federal Bureau of Investigation in preventing the fraud.